Who Wants the Ball

The Final Four, the NBA Playoffs—a time when everything will come down to who wants the ball. Coaches will be looking for their go-to players, because that’s who will have the best chance of winning the game for them. Notice, I didn’t say that’s who will win—there are no guarantees, and even the best of us can fail sometimes. And sometimes the other team is just better. But the player who wants the ball, commands the ball, and shoots that last shot—that’s the player I want on my team!

When building a business, you will at some point need people to take big shots. Not everyone can be the best on the team, obviously, but you can assemble a team where everyone is willing to give it their best, where everyone is willing to take risks when it counts. Maybe not all of your people start out with that trait, but often, if you the leader give them the opportunity to try new ideas without the fear of losing everything, they’ll learn it. Then, ultimately, you can have a team of players willing to take that last shot.